December

What a crazy month December was! The first part of it was spent engulfed in writing papers and taking finals and once I had that out of the way, I could actually start to get into Christmas. We were able to get the tree up and decorated just in time for me to get sick...twice. That's pregnancy for ya!

The Christmas tree was an adventure in and of itself. When we first pulled out the ornaments, Ben took one of the balls and threw it (isn't that what every boy does with a ball??) directly at the tile the first throw. It shattered every where of course. We spent the rest of the month trying to keep him from repeating it and at the very least not grabbing one of the nicer ornaments. Can you see the mischief on his face? He is wondering whether he should grab an ornament and run or play with the outlet that is screaming his name.


Early in the month, we went to the local Christmas festival. It was pretty neat, especially for the small size of our town. They had Santa Claus, fake snow, and a little carnival with games and rides.


Can you see the specs of snow?


Less than a week later, we got REAL snow! Ok, real for Louisiana.. I snatched Ben out of bed so he could see it. We weren't brave enough to go out in it though. It didn't take long before it all melted away (the rain didn't help) and afterwards I was missing Utah snow pretty bad. Throughout the day, I found myself daydreaming about pushing Ben in a sled, making a big snowman, having a snowball fight..I even missed when Adam used to come home when we lived in student housing at the University of Utah and he'd throw a snowball at the window to scare me!


Within just a couple of days, we had hot weather. Then cold, then hot...Here's a cute pic of Ben all bundled up for a cold day.


At the church Christmas party, we got to experience Christmas dinner cajun-style! The menu was gumbo, potato salad, and more sweets than Santa could eat in a year. I learned after that that to really experience it cajun-style, I was supposed to put my potato salad IN my gumbo..is that right??? Any way, it was good nonetheless. Primary (the kids of our church)put on a nativity that no one heard (although Ty did a great job reading from Luke 2) because the mic crapped out. The kids were pretty cute all dressed up like shepherds, sheep, a star, wisemen (and a wisewoman), Mary and Joseph.

At the party, Ben watched Santa Claus from a distance and reached to give him a kiss at one point (from like 10 feet away), but when we got closer, it was all over with. I could have handed him over to Santa, but I already have that picture from last year!


Last year's photos..I've got to get an ornament made of these or frame them or something..hilarious!



Speaking of Primary, I was released from serving as Primary president. I should have seen the release coming since I was actually feeling like I was coming into my own in the calling, but I didn't..Nonetheless, it will be good. I was asked to be the enrichment counselor in Relief Society. I will miss miss miss those kids! I really learned a lot from my counselors and the teachers I served with, but I'm excited to be in Relief Society again too. And just like the kids are so incredible in Primary, their moms and other women in there are equally amazing in my experience thus far. But it will be harder to think of reasons to break out my talent of catching cheerios with my mouth in there!

With everything so crazy, I didn't get to make all the goodies I wanted to. I got some done and delivered which was fun, but there's a lot of friends I just didn't get to. Please know that you are loved and appreciated nonetheless! Here's Ben enjoying the spoils of my treat-making.


I canned a couple jars of spiced apples (a little for food storage) which I was pretty proud of. I couldn't find red hots anywhere so I settled for hot tamales candies which was kind of a bummer since the gummy part didn't break down as much as I would have liked. But they were pretty and yummy and for my first stab at it, I was happy.

Lake Charles, Here We Come!

Adam got a job in Lake Charles, LA that will be a lot better for our family in a lot of ways. Although we will miss our Tuscaloosa friends, there is a lot about his job that we won't miss. He is scheduled to start with Basell/Lyondell on January 7th which means we have to sell a house and find, then buy a house realy really soon and amidst the holidays at that! Yikes!

All About Ben

I put Ben in his crib the other day. It's more appropriately known to him as his playpen since I can count the number of hours he’s ever slept in there on one hand..Any way, I was cleaning his room and he PULLED UP on the side of his crib.



He was soo proud of himself! It was the cutest thing ever! After probably 5 minutes, he fell down and now he hates being left in there. He keeps looking at this one toy scared of it, like it was the toy’s fault he fell..hehe.



We also went to see Santa Claus at the mall. While we were waiting, Ben is happy as a lark, but Santa changed that! I plop Ben down in his lap and out comes “the lip”. Santa looks at Adam and says “You better hurry and take that picture” lol. Before we could though, Ben had gone into a full blown wail! Lol. I felt bad, but dang it was funny! What a classic picture!




And because ONE picture of Ben crying in Santa's lap just isn't enough, here's one more and the church Christmas party over the weekend. (BTW, email me from here if you want the pictures I took of your kids. I've got some of the kids of Caroline, Megan, Greg and Amy Thompson, Amy Tew, Noel and Brad, and Cheyenne. )

Church Talk

Adam and I were asked to speak in church this last Sunday on Christmas. Here are some my remarks:

This year I received one of the best gifts that I could have gotten. Benjamin Cade Morris was born to us on April 3 at 10:54am. Early that morning, I got into my safe and comfortable car, had my bag packed and prepared, arrived in a nice, clean room made just for the occasion and had a planned induction. After he was born, Ben was put into a bassinette where a team of professionals stood ready to attend to his every need. He received many visitors and gifts as well, although I don’t recall any myrrh, frankincense, or gold. I would definitely remember the gold. :-)




Another mother, Mary, lived many years ago. She conceived the Son of God, though she was a virgin. She was espoused to Joseph, a carpenter. King Augustus had ordered everyone to return to their ancestral homes in order to be taxed. Since Joseph was a descendent of David, he had to return to the city of David otherwise known as Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph were on this errand when she went into labor. She did not have a team of professionals ready to help her deliver nor a ready-made room. In fact, there wasn’t even an inn she could use. She didn’t even have a nice, comfortable place to lay her babe, the Son of God and the Savior of all mankind and Creator of the World. He was born in a stable amongst animals, maybe donkeys, sheep and cattle. Mary wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a trough that would normally hold food for animals, this sweet little baby who would grow up to do more miraculous things than has ever occurred or will ever occur in the history of mankind.




During His life, He would heal sick people, raise some from the dead, walk on water, feed thousands with very little food, resist Satan’s temptations, teach us the truths of the gospel and show by example how to live it, and ultimately allow his perfect body to bleed from every pore as He suffered for our sins in the garden of Gethsemane and He laid down the very life that Mary begat him which we celebrate at Christmas time. But He did overcome death and He did rise on the third day, just like He said He would.



I am so grateful for Jesus. He is my Savior and my King. He has healed my heart many times either from my own sin or the choices of others. He pleads with the Father on my behalf and forgives me each and every time I mess up. He loves me unconditionally and wants me to be happy and return to live with Heavenly Father. He gives me so very much and asks so little of me. I just have to love Him and keep His commandments.